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Jason, I have noticed that if I apply too much pressure when blending with the paper stump, it seems to flatten the tooth of the paper which, again, makes it difficult to apply subsequent layers. Also, if I rub too vigorously with my finger, the area becomes shiny and will not smooth out or blend in. Lastly, Clairefontaine seems to be experiencing quality control issues with their Pastelmat paper because, on your recommendation, I purchased 4 packs of the light blue paper and instead of the grain being smoother than the dark grey paper, it was just the opposite. I conducted several comparison tests with several sheets of the light blue and dark grey papers and the packs of light blue paper had a deeper, larger, more intense grain pattern than that of the dark grey paper. So, hopefully, Clairefontaine will resolve this issue.
Late to the party, but here are my two cents: long time ago, when I first started working in pastels, I was taught to blend not with fingers, nor even with a paper stump, but with another pastel stick. I’m working in pastel sticks, rarely in pastel pencils. This way I do two things at once: I obtain a blend of color, layering one color on top of another, and also I get rid of the paper color in the background. I hope this helps somebody. Cheers!
When you say the darker the pastelmat the rougher the surface and visa versa, I thought this and mentioned it on an art page on facebook, and was shot down in flames ! even Pastelmate replied and said the surfaces were all equal in texture. As an ambassador of Pastelmat can you confirm it with them and redeem my reputation ! ??? lol.
Have you seen and how do you deal with the surface differences in white Pastelmat? My earlier purchases have a velvety surface. Some more recent product is not velvety at all, but looks more like concrete with a very noticeable difference between the 2 textures.
Do you find a Clairfontaine Pastelmat has frequent issues? Twice now I have bought pads with lines going through, impossible to cover and pictures have been ruined. Also find quite often the surface is uneven with coating.
Sadly the lines are naturally occurring and so far I haven’t come across one that’s in an awkward position. With any lines I fill them in with pastel and the line pretty much disappears 🥴
Thank you. I always use the black pastemat and layer and blend a lot of skin tones. But I always get the grain coming back after blending. It makes sense that I've rubbed off the top part now. But how do I blend all the colours without it happening. I've tried many ways but always end up with it. Maybe I should move to a lighter colour paper afterall? I always worried I'm overworking the area.
I think you will always have those tiny darker areas ie the top grain showing through when you blend on the black paper - light blue is the paper I use 90% of the time now - I think you will find it much easier to use.
@wildlifeartjm thank you! Yes maybe I'll switch colours to try and avoid it. I usually go with the darker as I normally have black or super dark backgrounds so it doesn't take much pastels working on a darker coloured paper. But maybe I'll try black wash paint for the backgrounds now.
What about painting 70% rubbing alcohol over your thin, base layer of pastel? Wouldn’t that make the pastel soak into the valleys of the paper and smooth out the color on dark paper?
Sorry Jason but the only tip seems to be - don't use a dark paper. Is that tight? What happens when you do want to use a dark paper - how do you get over the provlem?
I show in the video all the ways to minimse the grainy effect on black paper. You will not get rid of it entirely, which is why I said to use a lighter paper that is not so rough - ie light blue. The black works well on subjects that dont need to be smooth ie animals with fur etc - the problem is really when trying to get perfectly smooth areas like backgrounds
When blending with your finger, you will remove pastel AND probably bring oil from your skin onto the surface. This will prevent more pastel to stay on the surface. So make sure to wash your hands (or only keep your blending finger clean 😅). Especially touching your face will apply oil to your fingers.
